Fate Forgotten Read Online Free Page A

pain, so for the first time in his life, he found himself wishing he wasn’t a demon, but an angel, who he’d seen had the power to do so. Bearing the pain for her was the least he could do, and yet, he didn’t have the power to do that either.
    He hadn’t grieved. All he did—worry about Annie. The reason he watched her so closely. He worried how much she grieved, worried whether the simplest decisions he made were the right ones. Constantly, he wondered whether his sister would have made the same ones. He wanted to honor her memory by raising Annie like she would have, but he would never know.
    His biggest fear: the thought Annie would become like him—a fraction of the person he’d once been because of loss. He hoped, despite the odds, he could teach her to move forward, look past what happened even if he never had.
    Ashley sat beside him, interrupting his disheartening thoughts. “Hi.”
    “Hey.”
    “I see she’s enjoying her new toys.”
    “Yeah, she is.”
    She folded her hands into each other. “Can I tell you something without you taking offense?”
    He nodded, wondering how she could say anything to offend him. Anyone else, he’d probably bite their head off, but not Ashley. She was timid, sweet, and his friend.
    “I think you should try to bring some of her stuff from home just to provide some familiarity. I think it could help her adjust better. I mean…what she’s been through…the change would be difficult for any child. If she had something to remind her of the life she had before…especially pictures…”
    Originally, he’d thought it better to start fresh with no reminders of the past, but Ashley had a point. His niece would remember regardless. There were things she needed to remember, especially the fact she had loving parents, who’d never wanted to leave her.
    He nodded.
    Ashley placed her hand on his shoulder. “You’re doing a great job, Jake.”
    He released a breath in frustration. If he’d been doing a good job, he would have thought of her suggestion first. He was way out of his league, a man with one foot off a ledge, but he wouldn’t give his niece up—never. The blood that ran through him coursed through her, too. The only remaining reminder he’d once had a vivacious and curious sister. If it meant tearing himself in half, he’d learn to raise her daughter, his precious niece. He had faith, only in that.
    “I have no idea what I’m doing.”
    “It doesn’t look like it, Jake—not to me or Clyde or Jenna or anyone else…and no parent knows what they’re doing the first time around.”
    A parent—exactly what he was, yet the word had never crossed his mind. Maybe because he didn’t want to admit what the word implied, his niece’s parents were gone. About time he did. He needed to come to terms with the fact his sister wasn’t coming back, so he could move on and help Annie do the same.
    ****
    It had been days since Val’s life changed forever.
    The deep gash on her leg, numerous bumps, bruises, and a series of smaller cuts had healed. As a witch, her skin was tougher, stronger than a mortal’s and healed quicker, too, though not as quickly as other immortal breeds. She could’ve concocted a potion to heal just as fast, but she didn’t have the will.
    A deep and searing pain too terrifying to seem real clung to her. She lost everyone she’d ever loved—her family, her coven—the sisters who’d raised her. Nothing she could do to erase the ache.
    She slept and slept. When she woke, she tortured herself remembering the last moments she’d shared with them. Her gift of foresight had failed her at the moment she’d needed it the most. And so, she’d lost her faith in magic and especially, in herself.
    What would she do now? Where would she go?
    “Valerie.”
    She shifted her attention away from her depressing thoughts and met Clyde’s stare.
    “I brought someone to meet you.” He stood aside allowing a petite brunette resembling Ashley to step